Highland Cattle originated in the Highlands and West coastal islands of Scotland, areas severe in climate and lashed by the North Atlantic gales. Throughout the long recorded history of Highlands, breeders have taken great care to retain the original characteristics of these cattle. Originally, the breed was divided into two classes, the West Highlands or Kyloe, and the Highlander.
The Kyloes, raised on the Western islands of Scotland, tended to be of a smaller size and had a higher percentage of black and brindled cattle than the mainland Highlanders. The size difference was probably due more to the severe climate and limited rations that the island cattle were subjected to than to any genetic variation between the classes. Today all members of the breed are called Highland.
The Highland Cattle Society of Scotland was established in 1884 and the first Herd Book published in 1885.
Highland Cattle were first imported into Canada from Scotland in the 1880s: one bull by the Hon. Donald A. Smith (Lord Strathcona), Winnipeg, and one bull by Robert Campbell, Strathclair, Manitoba, who later also imported five females. History has also recorded the presence of Highland Cattle in Nova Scotia during these early years.
The late 1920s began the era significant to present day Canadian breeders, when importations were made from Scotland by breeders in Saskatchewan and Ontario. R. Home Smith of Toronto imported one female and W.A. McInroy of Ilderton, Ontario, imported two females and a male in 1928. In 1929, Mary Lindsay imported six females and one male to Greenstreet, Saskatchewan, and later that year R. Home Smith imported four more females and one male.
Since that time there have been many more importations, some of which were on a much larger scale of between 10-40 animals. In the early 1950's importing and exporting of Highland Cattle started between Canada and the United States.
The Canadian Highland Cattle Society was formally incorporated as a livestock breed association under the Livestock Pedigree Act in October 1964. From that time to the present, the Canadian Highland Cattle Society has employed the services of Canadian Livestock Records Corporation to verify and record the pedigrees of all registered Canadian Highland Cattle.
All Highlands registered in the Canadian Herd Book must be purebred. By not allowing the addition of other breeds to the Canadian Highland gene pool, the Canadian Highland Cattle Society maintains the purity of the race.
Canadian cattle have always had an excellent health record. This factor, along with the present worldwide demand for Highland Cattle, has led to a number of exports of Canadian Highlands and Highland embryos to countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Germany and even Scotland.
Much like the Highland cattle in ancient Scotland, Canadian Highlands are raised in vastly different environmental conditions. The wide range seen in the size of cattle within the breed is due mainly to this effect.
The following average weights are for cattle that have not had their growth affected by severe climate or restricted diet:
Mature bulls weigh 1,800 pounds (800 kilograms) in breeding condition.
Mature cows weigh 1,100 pounds (500 kilograms) in breeding condition.
Steers will finish at about 1,000 (450 kilograms). This weight can be attained with heavy feeding as a long yearling but most breeders prefer to grow their steers on pasture and finish them at two years.
Highlands have a double coat of hair - a downy undercoat and a long outer coat which may reach 13 inches, and which is well-oiled to shed rain and snow. With the double coat of hair and thick hide, the Highland has been adapted by nature to withstand great exposure. It is not uncommon for Highlands to shed this heavy hair coat when exposed to a hot dry climate and then grow a new one as the damp cold weather returns.
The Highland is unusually healthy and hardy. It will survive on roughage and poor grazing, including brush if necessary, under climatic conditions where most of our popular breeds would suffer. Highlands are noted for their browsing ability and therefore are well suited to farmsteads where there is an excess of poor pasture and rough land. The Highland's proven ability to produce top quality meat without the addition of expensive high quality feeds makes this breed the perfect choice for those people who wish to produce beef with natural inputs.
The mothering instinct is highly developed in the Highland cow. Abandoned calves, for even first-calf heifers, are rare. This strong protective inclination of the cow minimizes predator losses that can even extend to sheep that are pastured in the same field. The Highland calf is exceptionally hardy and grows rapidly up to weaning.
The Highland cow has a long productive life and many herds average 12 calves from each cow. This greatly reduces their replacement cost, a most important factor these days.
As a rule, the head is proportionate to the body of the animal, broad between the eyes, while short from the eyes to the point of the muzzle. The forelock between the eyes should be wide, long and bushy. The muzzle should be short, though very broad in front, and with the nostrils fully distended.
In bulls, the horns should be strong, and come level out of the head, slightly inclining forward and also slightly rising toward the points, although some breeders have a preference for a downward curve, which is allowable.
The horns of the cows can follow either of two directions: some come out squarer from the head than the male, rise sooner, and are somewhat longer; others come more level from the head, with a back set curve, and a very wide sweep.
The neck should be altogether clear and without dewlap below. It should form a straight line from the head to the shoulder in the cow, but in the mature bulls should have that distinct crest common to male animals of the bovine species, giving a decidedly masculine appearance.
The shoulder should be thick and should fill out greatly as it descends from the point to the lower extremity of the foreleg.
From behind the shoulder, the back should be fully developed and well rounded. Any slight sinking or hollow is decidedly objectionable. It should also be straight as possible. The ribs should spring boldly out and be both well rounded and deep.
When measured across the hips the breadth should be very great, and the quarters should be exceedingly well developed from the hips backwards. The thighs should also be well developed and should show great fullness. Viewed generally, the hindquarters should be square between the hips and the tail, and from between the tail right down to between the hind feet.
The legs, both before and behind, should be of moderate length and strong, the bones strong, broad and straight, the hoofs well set in and lacking faults, the legs well feathered with hair. The animal should be set wide between the forelegs, and it should move with great dignity and style.
The cows should have well attached udders with a strong centre line and four teats of moderate length for easy milking by the calf. The scrotum on the bull should be well developed and pendulant with two testes of equal size and shape. Testicle size in yearling bulls has a high correlation with his fertility and the rate of maturity of his daughters.
The hair, of which there should be a great profusion, should be long and gracefully waved. The predominant color is red but brindled, yellow, white, dun and black are also acceptable. There is no proven correlation between hair color and animal performance. Most of the larger herds have animals of differing colors but a few breeders have chosen to breed for a specific shade.
